1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to household items, and in particular, to a hamper that can be collapsed to a compact configuration for convenient storage and transportation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Space, storage, convenience and shipping are major concerns relating to the shipment and sale of household items. For example, the bulkiness and large sizes of many of these household items can not only increase the shipping costs of such items, but can also present space and storage problems to consumers who live in smaller homes and apartments.
An example of such household items is laundry hampers. Laundry hampers tend to be large in size to hold a reasonable amount of dirty clothing. However, transportation and storage of these hampers is quite troublesome, since their large sizes and bulkiness makes it more costly to ship them from the manufacturer to retailers. In addition, the consumer often needs sufficient space in their vehicles to take them home, and then needs sufficient floor space in the home to store these hampers when they are not in use.
Thus, there remains a need for a laundry hamper that can be conveniently shipped, transported, stored and deployed for use, and which takes up minimal space, thereby decreasing the shipping costs and increasing convenience to the consumer.